Philophobia Shockwave Coda
by PJ in NH
Summary: Coda to Shockwave II. What happens after the Suliban bring Malcolm back to his cabin.


Title: Philophobia - Shockwave Coda  
Contact: kelhapam@metrocast.net  
Series: ENT  
Rating: G  
Code: R/S  
Part: 1/1 NEW   
Date: September 19, 2002  
  
Summary: Coda to Shockwave II.  
  
Disclaimer: Paramount owns all the characters, etc., I am just  
using the characters for a little fun and relaxation.  
  
Note of Appreciation. Special thanks to my beta reader: P.J.  
Sutherland.  
  
Posting: Please notify me before you do.  
  
  
Philophobia - Shockwave Coda  
  
09/19/02  
  
I was still keeping guard on the two Suliban when I heard the  
sound of someone walking down the ship's corridor. More than one,  
probably two I figured. So I crawled under Trip's bed and pressed  
myself up against the wall and waited.   
  
I had hoped they'd keep on walking, but they didn't. I could hear  
them stop outside the cabin door. I tried not to breathe as the  
door slid open, but I almost cried out when two Suliban threw  
Malcolm inside.   
  
"Isn't this the engineer's cabin?" one of the Suliban asked.   
  
"It's got to be his," the other replied. "Look at how he tampered  
with the door mechanism so he could get out."  
  
I held my position thankful that they couldn't see their fallen  
comrades. When I heard the door being locked from the outside, I  
crawled out of my hiding place, checked to see that the other  
Suliban were still out cold, and then moved over to where Malcolm  
lay. I was very thankful the Suliban had brought him to Trip's  
cabin, instead of his own.  
  
He was laying face down, his head tilted over to his left. I  
could see he looked beaten, but I didn't know how bad until I  
rolled him over to his back. The right side of his face was  
horribly battered and swollen, particularly around his eye.   
  
  
I grabbed a towel and drew some warm water into a bowl I found.   
Positioning myself next to Malcolm, I gently pulled his head up  
onto my lap. Wetting the cloth, I wrung it out and ever so  
gently I began to wash the blood and dirt away from his face. I  
felt so ashamed then. Here I had complained about crawling  
through the ship because I was claustrophobic, but Malcolm had  
willingly endured the Suliban's intense interrogation. I felt  
sick inside. Sick that I tried to get out of my assignment, and  
sick that Malcolm suffered so much. My eyes overflowed with  
tears wetting my cheeks.  
  
I lightly patted his lips with the towel, when I heard him moan.   
  
"Malcolm?"   
  
He moaned again and this time he opened his left eye slightly  
peering out at me through a slit.  
  
"You're in Trip's cabin," I explained. "The Suliban brought you  
here."  
  
Bracing himself with one hand against the deck, he tried to push  
himself off my lap. I placed a hand on his chest and firmly but  
gently pushed him back down. "You can't do anything. Not in  
your condition," I told him. "We'll have to wait until someone  
opens the door."  
  
"I--I did it," he said, his voice soft and stressed with pain.  
  
"I never doubted you," I assured him. With my free hand, I ran  
my fingers through his dark hair, it seemed to comfort him. "You  
were very brave."  
  
With a trembling hand, Malcolm reached up and ran his fingertips  
down over my tear-moistened cheek. "Sssssh," he soothed. "D-  
Don't cry."  
  
I smiled through the tears. "I could never be as brave as you."   
  
"You did your duty...you got to my cabin...your phobia," he said,  
his sentence fragmented, but the meaning was clear.  
  
"I'm afraid of closed-in spaces, among other things," I  
explained. "Sometimes I don't even know why I'm on Enterprise."  
  
"Don't hate yourself," Malcolm urged, his voice sounding a bit  
stronger. "You're valuable to the ship. Phobias can be  
debilitating."  
  
I sniffed and rubbed away the tears with the back of my hand.   
"You're never scared. You're fearless," I reminded him.  
  
"No. Far from it."  
  
I was surprised. Malcolm never seemed to be afraid of anything.   
He was the ship's Armory Officer. He protected the ship above  
all else. "You afraid?" I questioned.  
  
He nodded and with a sigh closed his eye.   
  
"Afraid of what?" I needed to know.  
  
He looked up at me again, his blue eyes barely visible. His lips  
moved slightly. I leaned closer bringing my ear down close to  
his swollen lips.   
  
"I didn't hear you, Malcolm. What are you afraid of?" I asked  
again.  
  
"Of you," he breathed. "And my heart."  
  
  
The End.  
  
  
Comments please to kelhapam@worldpath.net Had to make a small  
change, when someone pointed out that Hoshi was actually in  
Trip's cabin, not Malcolm's.  
  
  
Philophobia - Fear of falling in love or being in love 


End file.
